6 Surprising Reasons Why You Need To Be Stressed

I know it sounds absurd. Why would you need to be stressed? Especially when you’re looking for ways to eliminate it from your life.

But the fact of the matter is you can’t. There’s no way to completely rid your life of stress.

Some way, somehow it will always find its way in. You’ll probably end up more stressed trying to get it out.

Think about all the ways stress weasels its way into your life, family, friends and work. Even a trip to a local store filled with strangers can turn into quite the ordeal.

You could minimize your time with all of those things but that would make things much harder.

And after all that drama, stress will still be there, laughing in your face like it never left.

But the joke is not completely on you because it’s good to have some stress in your life. As long as it’s not driving you utterly insane you could benefit from it.

So end the end you can thrive from it still hanging around.

You’re Bringing in the Bad Stress

I’m sure for years you’ve been trying to rid your life of stress. You’ve probably done everything you can think of, from breathing exercises to completely walking away from the problem.

Sometimes they work and other times it doesn’t. But either way stress still finds a way back into your life. I think at this point you and I both know that it’s not going anywhere.

But why are you fighting so hard to get rid of something that’s pretty much permanent anyway? Because they made it seem like you had to.

It’s been drilled into your head, since the beginning of time, that stress is a bad thing. A killer even.

You were made to believe that you had to get rid of it to be happy and healthy. But instead you’re driving yourself insane trying to exile it from your life.

So you’re not exactly happy and you might even be testing your health living this way.

The truth is stress is just a part of the ups and downs that come with everyday life. And that’s fine as long as it’s short term.

You may not have even noticed the difference between short term and long term stress because to you stress is stress. It’s all the same, there’s no difference.

I mean after all you have the same reaction to it so how would you know there was a difference. Well my friend, there is.

Long term stress is an event of stress that ongoing or has lasting effects. For instance, having an extremely stressful and overwhelming job would fall into the category of long term stress.

Short term stress isn’t as heavy. It’s like there being a traffic jam ahead when you need to be a work in 10 minutes.

Yeah, you’re stressed about having to figure out how to get to work on time but it’s probably not going to give you an ulcer.

Keep it Short

If you’re going to change things around in your life you have to be realistic. And the fact of the matter is you can’t make all of your stress vanish into thin air.

As long as short term stress is the prominent type of stress in your life you’ll be fine. In fact this kind of stress has its own benefits.

Once you realize what they are you’ll be able to handle it better and get out the endless cycle of trying to banish it all without getting anywhere.

Think of how much time and energy you’ll have after. See, the stress benefits are already two-fold.

1. It’ll push you

How many times has a stressful situation lit a fire under your bum?

Think about the all-nighters you pulled in school writing reports that were assigned months in advance, all because you waited until the due date was in your face.

Nothing like knowing that a deadline is hanging over your head to kick things into high gear.

Stress has a high octane way of motivating you and pushing you out of the procrastinating phase.

2. It helps your brain

Who would’ve thought? And you thought it only gave you headaches.

Studies have found that acute stress can actually improve your memory and concentration, pushing it to optimal performance.

This explains why some people so their best work when they’re working under the gun. You just come up with good stuff because you have to. Your brain knows that there’s no other option.

The stress related headaches that you may experience are likely from severe stress.

3. It can make you stronger

Now that I think about it, I guess that’s how some people get superhuman strength during stressful times, like a single person lifting a car off of a child…

But that’s not actually what I’m talking about. I’m sure you can be physically as strong as you need to be when the time comes but it also strengthens you emotionally and mentally.

Acute stress causes you to be more flexible while working through it and leaves you tougher than you were before.

4. It can make you healthier

See its’ not all bad. While some stress probably lead to a shorter life span, short term stress can kick your body into protection status.

Another study has revealed that this kind of stress can increase the performance of your body’s immune system.

Basically your body responds to the stress by going into active mode.

It’s kind of like when you know something unexpected and stressful is going to happen and you suddenly start sweating. Your body knows things are about to get hot so it immediately begins to cool you down.

5. It can guide you

You know there is stress out there that is bad for you. That’s the kind of stress that you need to watch out for and eliminate from your life.

If you’re constantly stressed about the same thing that’s an indication that somethings got to change.

Your stressed reaction lets you know that something isn’t right.

It’s like a guiding emotion of epic portions.

6. It helps you bond

You ever notice how after you’ve gone through a tough time and a friend has been there for you, it brings you two closer?

Yeah, that’s it.

The stress of the whole situation just somehow deepens your bond and changes your relationship for the better.

You’re more connected with that person in a way like no other ever before.

It Isn’t All Bad

Stress is infamous for the negative impact it can have on your life but regardless of how horrible you think it is and how much you try, it’s never going to go away completely.

And while it can have its downside, stress can also be a stimulant. Sometimes you need a different kind of jolt to get moving.

It’s easier to deal with stress and overcome it if you can look past the idea of it solely being there to rip your life to shreds.

Besides, a life without some kind of chaos would be really boring and less stimulating.

Tell me…

How do you typically respond to stress? Looking back, did any of these things happen?

Lea is a certified life coach, foodie and lifehack expert. Don’t end up like the millions of people who gave up on their dreams, get unstuck and to the next level. Take the eye-opening Live Your Dreams course now to get moving!

When I saw the title of your post I thought you were nuts. How can anyone need stress?

Having read your post I guess I can see your points but still not exactly sure I agree 100%. The one thing I did resonate with though is the make you stronger. I’ve been physically attacked before but it was the fear that kicked in that saved me from being hurt anymore than I was, not the stress of the situation. Maybe we all just look at these areas differently.

For the most part I’ve been stress free for a good number of years now. Granted, I worry about things at times but I try my best to just breath and control my feels much more during those times so that I don’t stress out over things I can’t control. We all know that doesn’t get us anywhere.

Great tips though, I can appreciate what you shared here. Hope you’re enjoying your day and thanks again.

Lol, I know it sounds crazy. Stress is probably the single most thing you try to avoid in daily life. But it’s more so short term stress that’s acceptable. Basically, that kind of stress isn’t all bad, it can make some impactful changes. However, long term stress can do quite a number on you.

I’ve learned to keep my stress in check also. I wouldn’t exactly say I’m stress free because it doesn’t seem realistic. There’s always seems to be little instances here and there, they’re just not major (I guess it’s all how you view it). But the way I handle any kind of stress has changed dramatically. I’ve learned to dismantle things before they become a problem – that’s super helpful.

Hi Lea, I believe we all need a little stress to push us to success. If we were not stressed we may stay in bed all day and not do a thing but the stress of having bills to pay gets us to work each day 🙂 Too much stress can backfire though so we must keep it in balance….

Yes stress can be a great motivator. When you consider all the things that you do to avoid such stress you begin to realize it. Like you said, the stress of not being able to pay your bills ensures you keep working.

It’s all about balance. Seems like too much of anything becomes bad for you. I guess the real trick to life is keeping it all in check.

You’re 100% fact about stress being able to help you. Before I was current with my debt I used to get stressed out about it. One day I started using the stress to motivate me. A few months later things are current and I’m not stressing it anymore.

Well You remind me about a book I read about Stress. Even though they talked about the danger of stress and how it affects the body, they also agreed that a little stress is not bad and can help the body.

I use to have a mixed feeling about Stress till today. I guess you can say that Stress is like a double edged sword. It has good benefits and dangerous ones.

This is so interesting. I was just recently watching a cool TEDtalk on this very subject. So often we have such a visceral response to stress that we fail to appreciate its benefits. Great to be reminded of the positives with being stretched. Especially loved the points about stress being a guide, and also how it can be a means of bonding. Have definitely found that to be true in my own life.

You have enlightened me today about stress and how it can benefit you physically and mentally. There is a great difference between long term and short term stress.

If it is long term, we have to figure out how to get around it..or let things roll off our shoulders so to speak. Like people who are in a job situation and stuck there with stressful people.

Short term stress is a given in life. But it is what we do about it. I can see how we can turn it around to a positive. Whenever that happens to me, my house gets cleaned lol. Or I cook an amazing dinner. I start feeling so much energy that I have to expel it somehow physically. So I can welcome that kind of stress.

I think as long as we acknowledge stress for what it is and turn it into something positive for ourselves instead of the doom and gloom, we can be healthier and deal with it better.

I work at my best under stress. An example is my posts. They get written up and I ‘to’ and ‘fro’ with the idea. But as the publish day comes around – my mind knows (and I trust this process now) that it is time to examine the post more thoroughly. Ensuring each sentence is connected to the one before. Any lose ends like a paragraph that sounds confusing until I link it with an example is added.

However I must say experience with stress has certainly given me skills to deal with it differently. I have also found what comes easy on some days will be hard to cop on other days. When I am having a bad day now, I accept it as part of my cycle and know it will pass. But I also know when I am having a great day that will pass as well and I am okay with it all now.

Accepting that I am capable of managing whatever is thrown at me has developed my confidence no end. I now truly rely on and back myself.

That sounds like me in college. I used to, it seem like on purpose, wait until the last minute to write reports because they just seemed to come out better when I was racing against the clock.

It’s good to remind yourself that whatever the situation is it’s only temporary. You’ll get over it and on to something else. Now, if we could only make the good days stick around more frequently 🙂

Thanks for sharing how you handle it and your inspirational insights!

~Lea

Lea

Welcome to the Leading Edge, I'm Lea. Here is where you'll find the support you need to get over the roadblocks and live the life that only seemed possible in your dreams. It may seem far fetched now but believe me it's not. I'm living proof! Read More…